Arran’s Local Produce

The range of fine foods and drink that is produced here on Arran is as varied and diverse as the wonderful island landscapes. The cheese, whisky, gin, fish, meat, chocolates, bread and even ice cream are all handmade on this tiny island and every single one of these locally created products are available allyear long. The producers are united by a common commitment to quality and taste and all share a passion for their craft, as well as this beautiful island. From internationally renowned companies, to small artisan producers, the main aim of each one is to delight you with the true taste of Arran.

The Arran Butcher

Anyone looking for top quality meats their first stop should be The Arran Butcher shop in Blackwaterfoot. Run by husband and wife team David and Dawn McKinnon the family butchers has been supplying homes and businesses on the Arran for over 53 years. As well as their extensive selection of quality meats including traditional cuts of naturally reared beef, pork and lamb and wild Arran venison they have some new products available for the barbecue season, delicious homemade speciality sausages, burgers, chicken kiev, pies, black pudding and haggis. What you not so well known is that they also stock a fantastic selection of fresh fish and can pretty much get anything you ask for such as tuna steak, sea bream, sea bass, salmon (fillets and whole sides), trout, lemon sole, haddock, smoked haddock, kippers, scallops and even skate wings! The shop also stocks a range of products, cold meats, cheese and ice cream. If you can’t get to the shop on the west coast they also have a mobile shop which can come to you and they deliver free of charge across the island. Look out too for the fortnightly Facebook specials. You can also find their products in the Co-op stores and at local shops around the island. And when you’re out for a bite to eat, why not look out for their products on the menu.

The Island Cheese Company

Producing award winning cheeses is not an easy task, but at Home Farm in Brodick that is exactly what Arran’s Cheese Shop has been doing for nearly 25 years. With Arran Blue, Arran Camembert and Arran Brie cheeses winning golds and silvers at the World and the British Cheese Awards -and the Cheese Shop’s Mustard Flavoured Cheddar being voted Best Scottish Retail Product - a commitment to quality has to be the principal motivation. As well as their own soft cheeses made in Blackwaterfoot, they produce a range of favoured cheddars that are available at the Home Farm shop and at various outlets on Arran and throughout Scotland. They have also started to produce their own very tasty Highland Cow butcher meat and burgers available only from the shop at Home Farm.

Arran Fine Foods

Arran Fine Foods is located in the picturesque village of Lamlash on the east coast of the island. Their small factory started life in the early 1970s producing mustard and now owing to the quality of their products, and the huge demand, they produce a wide range of delicious products known throughout the world for their quality and superior flavour. Today, around 20 employees make a selection of delicious chutney, mustard, preserves and salad dressings. The Arran range has scooped 12 prestigious Great Taste Awards since 2002, including a Gold 1 Star Award at the 2008 Great Taste Awards for their matured apple and Arran ale chutney and a 2004 Scottish Speciality Award for Arran Smooth Honey Mustard. More recently, they were honoured when professional chef and BBC Masterchef winner, Gary Maclean, chose Arran mustard to round of his main course sauce in the 2016 final.

Wooleys of Arran

At Wooleys branches in Brodick and Lamlash, they freshly prepare a wide range of products which are available daily. Fresh baked bread and rolls, cakes, pastries and tea bread, pies, bridies, sausage rolls and other savoury items. Scones and pancakes, filled rolls and sandwiches and delicious soup are also available and ideal if you fancy a take-away lunch or even late breakfast. But yhey are probably most famous of course for their oatcakes! But never a company to rest on their laurels, Wooleys also has another biscuit range for you to enjoy. The three varieties are punchy ginger, seriously coconut and raspberry infused cranberry. They are available from both Wooleys shops and from various outlets round the island.

Arran Dairies

To make the famous ice-cream Arran Dairies only use milk produced on Arran. They say it makes all the difference because it has a special taste due to the cows grazing on the clean and green pastures of Arran’s micro ecosystem, washed by the Gulf Stream and with rainfall coming straight in from the Atlantic. It is philosophy which certainly seems to work since sales have soared since the company took the decision in 2014 to stop milk production and concentrate all their efforts on ice cream. The development of the ice cream business, and their partnership with A Taste of Arran, has moved their small island based company into being a supplier of artisan ice cream products throughout the UK and abroad and they are delighted that their ice cream has won regional and national awards and are justifiably proud to brand is part of the ‘big tastes from a small Scottish island’, now also producing Vegan Ice cream in a variety of flavours. Arran Dairies is a 4th generation family run firm, established on the island in 1978, but with a heritage of food production on Arran dating back to the 1930s. It truly is a taste of Arran.

Arran Chocolate Factory

The Arran Chocolate Factory and its mouth-watering array of handmade truffles, fudges and chocolates has become one of the island’s great food experiences. James McChlery first began making chocolates over 18 years ago and since then he has continued to experiment with flavours and fillings to create one of the country’s finest range of hand made chocolates. How about sampling champagne and ginger truffles, mandarin marzipan or passion fruit crèmes? Look out for his seasonal Christmas puddings and Hot Cross buns! Supplying a select group of independent and corporate customers throughout Arran and the rest of the country, they also create very unique wedding favours all produced on the island. Go to the website www.jamesofarran.com where you can now also order online.

Isle of Arran Distillers

Today Arran can boast not one but two distilleries on the island the well established Lochranza Distillery and the newly opened Lagg Distillery at the south end of the island. Lochranza Distillery produces one of the finest ranges of malt whiskies in the world. Using only traditional methods f distilling with wooden washbacks and copper stills designed to an exact specification, the distillery produces award winning whisky which is now distributed all over the globe. Arran’s Lochranza Distillery uses no peat in the production process, with the exception of the Machrie Moor bottling, and does not use any caramel for artificial colouring - unlike most other distilleries - and as a result the malt produced can rightly be described as ‘the true spirit of nature.’ Today The Lochranza distillery has also forged close ties with 14 other food producers on the island to develop mustard, ice cream and chocolates all flavoured with this wonderful Arran whisky. The newly opened Lagg Distillery, on the other hand will be producing a heavily peated single malt more in keeping with the original Arran whisky produced both illicitly and legally in the south over the centuries. The distillery will also eventually be making cider and apple brandy from the 3,000 apple trees planted within the grounds.